THE DAY OF REST. CHRIST'S BOUNDLESS COMPASSION.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 179, 20 November 1886, Page 3

THE DAY OF REST. CHRIST'S BOUNDLESS COMPASSION.

Address by P. L Moody.

" And Je&ua went forth, and saw a prreat multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them"— M. vi x. xiv. U. It is otteu recorded In Scripture that Jobus was moved with compassion, and we are told in this verse that after the disciples of John had come to Him and told Him that their, master had been beheaded, and had been put to a cruel death, He went out into a desert place, and the multitude followed Him, and that whon He saw the multitude, Ho had " compassion " oa them, and healed their sick. And if he were here to day, in person, standing in my place, Bia heart would be moved as he looked down into your faces, because He could also look into your souls, and could read the brrdons and troubles and sorrows you have to bear. They are hidden trom my eye, but Ho knows all about them. And so, when the multitude gathered ! round about Him, He know how many weary, broken, and aching hearts there were | there. But He ia he c to-day, Although j we cannot see Him "Ji the bor? J ly eye ; ] and though "~ch heart knows its own bitterness, it .nnot be hid from the eye j of the Son of God. Ho knows all about it. There is not a sorrow, or trouble, or ufllic tion which any of you are enduring, but He j knows all about it, and He is the same to day as He was when here upon earth - the same Jesus, the same man of compassion. When He saw that multitude, He had com passion on it and healed their sick ; and I hope He v/ill heal a great many sin sick soula to r 1 '; and will bind up a great many broken hearts. And let me cay, in the opening of this sermon, that there is no heart so bruued and broken, but the Son of G od will have compassion upon you, if you will let Him. "He will not break a bruised reed, or quench the smoking flax." He came into the world to bring mercy, anc* joy, and compassion, and love. THINK OF THAT MAN COMING TO HIM FOLL OF LEI'ROSY FROM HEAD TO FOOT. There he was, banished from his homo, banished from his friend?, and he comes to Jesus with his sad and miserable story. Think of that poor man, and try to make the Bible story about him real. Think how much he had suffered. I don't know how many years he had been away from his wife and children and home, but there he was. He had put on a strange and particular garb, so that any one coming ne.T* him might know that he was unc'ean. And when he saw any one approaching him, he had to raise the warning cry, — '* Unclean ' unclean ! unclean !" Aye, and if the wife of his bosom were to come out to tell him that a beloved child was sick and dying, he durst not come near her ; he was obliged to fly. He mi^bt hear her voice at a dis tance, but he coi -d not be there to sco his child in its last dying moments. He was, as it were, in a living sepulchre, it wat worse than death — there he was dying by inches, an outcatt from everybody and everything, and not a hand put out to relieve him. Oh, what a terrible life ! Then think of him coming to Christ, and when Chriat paw him, we read, in the first chapter of Mark aud forty-fifth verse, He ivas moved with compassion. He had a heart that beat in sympathy with the poor leper — He had corapas?ion on him ; and the man came to Him, and said, " Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canat make me clean." He knew there was no one to do it but the Son of God himself. And the great heart of Christ being moved with compassion towards him, the gracious words fell from his lips, — " I will ; be thou clean !" And the leprosy fled, and the man was made whole immediately Look at him now, on his way back home to his wife and children and friends ' No longer an outcast, no longer a loathsome thing, no longer cursed with that terrible disease, but going back to his friends rejoicing. Now, my friends, let me say right here that you may declare you pity a man who was so badly off, but did it ever 3trike you that you are by nature a thousand times wor-e cti"? The leprosy of the soul i» far worse than the leprosy of the body. I would rather a thousand times have the body full of leprosy than go down to hell with the soul full of sin. A good deal better that this righr hand of mine wore lopped off, that this right foot should decay, and that I shorld go halt and lame and blind all the days ol my life, than be banished from God by the k leprosy ©f sin Hear the wailing find the agony and the woe that is going up from this earth, caused by sin ! But if there is one poor sin-sick soul filled with leprosy here to-day, if you come to Christ He will have compassion on you, and say, as He did to that man, " I will ; be thou clean." 2. Well, now we come to the next picture that represents Christ as moved with compass'on. Look into that little home at Naij, as depicted in the seventh chapter of Luke. The;e is a poor widow sitting there. Perhaps a few months before Bhe had buried her husband, anl now she has an only son. How bhe dotes upon'him. She looks to him to be her stay and her support and friend in her old age. She loves him far better than her own life-blood. But see, at last sickness enters the dwelling, and death comes with it, and lays his ice-cold hand upon the young man. "Sou can see that widowed mother, watching over him day and night ; but at last those eyes are closed, and that loved voice is hushed, she thinks, for ever. She will never see or hear him any more after he is buried out of her , sight. And so the hour comes tor hia burial. Many of you have been in the house of mourning, and have been with your friends when they have gone to the grave and looked at the loved one for tho last time. There is not one here, I darosay, who has not lost some beloved one. I never went toia funeral andsawa mother takethelastlook of her child but it has pierced my heart, and I could not keep back the tears at such a sight. Well, the mother kieses her only son on that poor icy forehead ; it is her last kiss, her last look ; and now the body is covered up, and they put him on the bier, and start for the place of burial. She had a great many friends. The little town of Wain was moved at the sight ol the widow's only son being borne away. I sco that groat crowd as they come pushing out of the gates, but over yonder are thirteen men, weary, and dusty, aud tired, and they have to stand by the wayside to let this great crowd pass by, and the Son of God is in this group, and the others with Him are His disciples. And he looked upon that scene and saw the mother"witb her broken heart, — He saw it bleeding, crushed, and wounded, and it awakened Hi? deepest sympathies. The great heart of the Son of God was moved with oompassion, and He just came up and touched the bier, and said~" Young man, I cay unto thee, arise 1" and the young man sat up, and began to speak. I can see the multitude startled and astonished, I can see the widowed mother goins back ret joicing "with the morning rays of the resurrection shining in her heart. Yes, indeed, Christ 4< had compassion on her" (Luke vii. 13),

And there is hot a 1 widow to-day but Christ's voice will respond to your trouble and give you pdace'. 1 ' Oh, dear friends, let mo say to you whose' hearts are aching, you need a friend like Jesus. He is just the friend the widow needs; Hq is just the friend every poor bleeding heart needs ; He will have compassion on you to-day, and will bind up your wounded bleeding heart if you will only come to him juet as you are. He will receive you, without upbraiding or chastising, to Hi 3 loving bo9om, and say, — " Jf eace, be still," and you can walk in the unclouded sunlight of His love from thia day. Christ will be worth more to you than all the world beaideß. Ho is just the f riond that all of you need, and I pray that every one of you may know Him from this hour as your Saviour and friond 3. But the next picture which I shall show you to illustrate Christ'B compassion is the man that was going down to Jericho, and fell among thieves, as described in the tenth chapter of Luke, versea 30 to 37. They had taken away his coat, aye, and if he had a watch, they would have taken that as well. However, they took hia money and stripped him and left him half dead. Look at him wounded, bleeding, dying. And now comes down the road a priest, and he looka upon the scene. His heart might have been touched, but he was not moved with compassion enough to holp the poor man. He might have eaid, — "Poor* fellow !" but ho passed by on the other side, and left him. After him came down a Levite, and ho said, — " Poor man !" but he was not moved with compassion to help him. Ah ! there are a good many like the priest and Lovito. Perhaps some of you meet a drunkard reeling in the etreet, and just say, — " Poor fellow " ; or it may be you laugh, because he stammers out some foolish thing. Alas ! we are very unlike the Son of God. — At last a Samaritan came down that way, and he looked down on the man and '■ had compassion on him " (Luke x. 33). He got off his beast, and took oil and poured it into his wounds and bound them up and took him out of the ditch, helpless as he was, and placed him upon his own beast, and took him to bis own inn, and took care of him. That good Samaritan represents your Christ and mine. He came into the world to seek and te save that which was lost. Young man, have you fallen in with bad companions ? Have they taken you to theatres and vicious places, and left you bleeding and wounded ? Oh, come at once to the Son of God, and He will have compassion on you, and take you off from the dunghill, and transform you, and lift you up to His kingdom, and into tho heights oi His glory, if you will only let Him. Ido not care who you are ; Ido not care what your past life may have bean. As he said to the poor woman caught in adultery, 11 Neither do I condemn thee, go in peace, go in peaco and sin no more." He had compassion upon her and He wjll have compassion on you. That man coming down from Jerusalem to Jericho, represents thousands to-aay, and that good Samaritan repropents the Son of God. Younc: man, Jesus Christ has eefc His heart on saving you. Oh, will you not receive His compassion ? Do not have such hard thoughts about the Son of Goc. Do not think He has come to condemn you. He has come to savo you. But I should like to sketch another picture, which Christ himself draws for us, namely, that", of the youug man, the prodigal eon, whom \s c read of in the 15th chapter of Luke, an ung r ateful son as ever one saw. He could not wait for his inheritance till his father was dead, he wanted his share at once, and so he said to his father, — " Give mo the goods that bolong to mo." The father ought not to have given them. If he had been a son of mine, I would have S'ud, "No, wait till I am dead," and Mould let him go ■without them. But his fond old father gave him the goods?, and away be went. I can ccc him now as he starts his journey, full of prido, boastful and arrogant, going out t > see lite— off in grand style to some foreign country— going to some great mctropoli?, and squandering all his money among harlots and thieves, and vagabonds. Yes, he was a proper man for them, a^ long as he had money. His friends last a 9 long as his money la?ts ; a very popular young man : "hail fellow, well met," greets him everywhere. He always paid the liquor-bill and cigars. Yes, ho has plenty of friends while his money lasts. But when his purse is empty, where are his friends? Oh! you that serve the devil, you have a hard master. When the prodigal's money was all gone, of conrse they laughed at him, and called him a fool ; and so he was. What a blind, misguided young man he was ! Just see what he lost. He lost hi 3 father's home, his table and food, and every comfort, and lost his testimony and his work, except what he got down there, while feeding tho^e swine. Tie was in an unlawful business. And that's just what the backslidor is doing ; he is in the devil's pay. You are losing your time and teatimony. ]So one has any confidence in a backslider. Even tho worJd despises such a character. Look at that young man amongst the swine. Probably eomo young man in that, far country came along, and, taking stock of him, said, — "Look at that miserable, wretched, dirty, barefooted fellow, taking care of swine." "Ah," says the prodigal, " don'b talk to me like that. Why, my father's a rich man, and has got servants, bettor dresced than you are." " Don't tell rue that," said the other. "If you had such a father as that, I know very well he wouldn't own you." And no one would beliove him. He had lost his testimony. In like manner no one believes a backslider. Let him talk about hia enjoyment with God, nobody believes it. Oh ! poor backslider. I pity you. You had bettor come home again. Woll, at last the poor prodigal comes to himsolf, and he says. —

" I WILL ARISE, AND GO TO MY FATHER," and now lie starts. Look at him as ho goes along, pale and hungry, with his head down ; his strength is exhausted, and perhaps disease in his framo, and so shattered, that no one would know him but hia father. Lova is keen to detoct its object. The old man has often been longing for his return. I can see him many a night up on the housetop looking out to catch a glimpse of him. Many a long night he h,if> wrestled with God that his prodigal son might come back. Everything he had heard Irom that far country told him that his boy was going to ruin as fast as ho could go. The "old man J spent much time in prayer for him, and at last faith begins to uriso, and he says, "I believe God will send back my boy," and all at once, one day, the old man, in the cool of the hour, sees that long lost boy. He does not know him by hia dress, but he detected the gait of him, and he says to himself, " Yes, that's my boy." I sco him now pass down the stairs and pußh the servants • he rueh.oB along the highway, he is running.

AH ! THAT IS JUST LIKE GOD. Many a time in the Bible God ia represented as running, He is in great haste to meet the backsliders. Well, the aged parent saw'hia son afar off, and "had compassion on him and ran to meet him" (Luke xv. 20) i The boy wanted to tell him his story, what he hod done, and where he had been, but the old man oould not wait to hear him, his

} heart was fillfld with , companion, and he took him to his loving bosom. The boy wanted to go down into the kitchen, but the old man would not let him, No, but he bade the servants put shoes on his feet, and rings on hi& fingers, and kill fatted calf, and make merry. The prodigal has come homo, the wanderer has retnrned and the old Evan 1 rejoices over the backslider's return. Oh 1 backslider come homo, and there will be joy in the hoart of God. May God bring tho backsliders back this very hour. Say, as the poor prodigal did, "I will arise and go to my Father," and on the authority of God, I will tell, you, God will relievo you, Ho will blot out your sins, and restore Hij love," and you shall walk in the light of His reconciled countenance, 5. But gaze upon another scene. Christ had come to Mount Olivet. It was his lasst visit to that city. He is under the shadow of the Cross. The city bursts upon him. Yonder is the Temple. He sees it in all the grandeur and glory. The people 'are shouting Hopanna to the Son of David ! They are breaking off tho palm branches, and taking off their gaaments, and spreading them before him, still shouting, Hosanna to the Son of David ! And bowing down befoie Him. But he disregards it all. Ye?, evon Calvary, with all its sorrow, He forgats. Gethsemane lay at the foot of the hill ; He forgets it too. As looked on the City which he loved, the great heart of the Son of God was moved with compassion, and He cried aloud, —" Oh Jerusalem 1 Jerusalem ! which kille3t the prophets, and stonest them that aie cent unto thee ; how often would X have gathered thy children together as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not." He wept over it, saying, "If thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace ; but now they are hid from thine eyes. . . . Thou knowest not the time ol thy visitation." (Luke xix [37-44). My friends, look at Him here, weeping over Jerusalem. What a wonderful city it might have been. How exalted to heaven it was Oh, if they had only known the day of their visitation, and had received instead of i ejecting tlnir kiner, what a bleasing He would have baen to them ! Oh, poor backeider, behold the Lamb of God weeping over you, and crying to you to come to Him, and take refuge in Him

PKOM THE STORM WHICH HAS YET TO SWEEP OVER THIS EARTH. 6. Look at poor Poter ; eeo what he did He denied the Lord, and swore he never knew Him And there was the Son of God betrayed that very night. If ever he needed sympathy, if ever He needed His disciples round Him, it was that night, when they were bringing false witnesses against, him, that He might be condemned to death ; there was Peter, one of hiq foremost disciple?, right out there, swearing he never knew Him. He might have turned on Peter, and said, — "Peter, is it true you don't know me? Is it true you have forgotten how I cured and hedled your wite's mother, when she lay at the point of death ? Is it true you have forgotten how 1 lifted you up, when you were sinking in the sea ? Is it true, Peter, you forgot how you were with me on the mount of transfiguration, when heaven and earth came together, and you heard the voice speaking from the clouds — is it true you have fcugotten that mountain scene, when >ou wanted to build the three tabernacles? — Is it true Peter, you have forgotten me ?" Y«', thus He might have reproached poor Peter, but instead of that, He just gave him one look of couipn Q sion that broke his heart. May he give each backslider a look of compassion and break bis heait. Yes, He gave Peter one look of compassion which broke his heart, and he went out, and wept bitterly. (Luke iv. 3S ; ix. 28 ; 61, G2). 7. Again, look at Saul, that bold blasphemer and persecutor, who was going to stamp out the early Church, and was breathing out threatening^ and slaughter?, when Christ met him on his way to Damas cus. Ie is the same Jesua still. Listen and hear what he says, — "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Why, He could have smitten him to the ground with a look or a breath, but instead of that, the heart of the Son of God was moved tvlth companion, and He cries out, — " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" I would ask you, — " Why persecute Jesus?" He lovefc you, sinner ; He loves you, persecutor. You never received anything but goodness and kindness and love from Him. And Saui cried out,—" Who art thou ?' and He answered, — " I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." It is hard tor thee to fight against such a loving friond, to contend against one who lovea you as I do. Then down comes the proud, persecuting Saul — down upon his face, and he cried out, ' Lord, what wouldßt Thou have me to do ?" and the Lord told him, and he went and did it. May the Lord have compassion upou every infidel, and sceptic, t»nd persecutor that hears these words. Ob, what reason can there be that you should hate Christ, or that your heart should be turned against Him?

I REMEMBER A STORY ABOUT A LITTIE GIRL AND AN INFIDEL. A teacher was telling the scholars all to follow Jesus, and to be missionaries, and go out to work for the salvation of others. Some days after, one of the smallest cauae to her, and said, " I asked such and such a one to oouae with me, and they said they would like to come, but their father wad an infidel,"' and the young child wanted to know what an infidel was, so the teacher explained it to her. And one day, when she was on her way to school, this infidel was coming out of the post-office, with his letters in his hand, so the child ran up to him, and said, " Why don't you love Jesus?" He thought at first to push her aside but the child pressed it homo again, " Why don't you love Jesus ?" If it had been a man, the infidel would hnve reaented it, but he did not know what to do with the child, and with tears in her eyes she asked him again, "Oh • please, tell me, why don't you love Jesus V He went on to his office, but he felt as if every letter he opened, read, " Why don't you love Jesus ?" Ho attempted to write with the same result — every letter seemed to ask him, «• Why don't you love Jesus ?" and he threw down his pen in despair, and went out of his office, but he could not get rid of the question— -it was asked by a still small voice within, and as he walked along it eeemei as if the. very ground and the very heavens whispered to him, "Why don't you love Jesus?" At last he went home, and there it seamed as if his own children asked him the question, so he said to his wife, " I will go to bed early tonight," thinking to sleep it away ; but when he laid Mb head on the pillow, it seemed as it the pillow whispered it to him. So he got up about midnight, and said, "lean find out where Christ contradicts Himself ; I'll search it out. Well, the man got ud, and turned to the gospel of. John, and read, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him. should not perish, but' have everlasting life." What a loving Son! was hia thought. His heart 'was stirred. He could not find any reason for, not loving Jesus, and down ho went oh' his knees, and prayed, and, before the sun rose the old infidel was in the kingdom of God.

I ' r '\ \ ' ~ ■ ■ I will challenge anyone on the face of th*. earth to find any reason for not loving God. You shall not find a spirit or a fiiend in the lost world, who can give a reason for not loving God. It is only hero on earth men think they have areason for not doing so. In heaven they all acknowledge His love, and they shout, " Worthy is the Lamb that waa dlain." Oh, ainner, if you knew Him, you would have no wish to find a reaaou tor not loving Him. He is the " chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely. '' It is one of the greatest wonders that the world does not come to Him. Well, then, you will say, "How shall I come to Him?" I can imagine a £jood many raying, "I should like very much to become a Christian, and I should like to know how I can come to Him, and ba saved."

WHY, COMB TO HIM AS A PERSONAL FB END* _ He ia w-rth more than all the world beside, and He will have compassion upon you ad He had npon me. / tried for xceeks to find a way to Him, and I just wont and laid my burden upon Him, and then He revealed Hiraselt to me, and I have ever since found Him a true and sympathising friend, ]ust the friend you need. Uo right straight ro Him. You need not go to this man or that man, to this church or v that church. He cays, "lam the Way, the Truth, and the Life." There is no man's name co dear to the Americana as

THAT OF ABRAHAM LIMCOIiN, and in an audience in America you would see the tears course each other down many a cheek at his name he is very dear to Americans. Do you want to know the reason why 1 I will tell you. He was a man of compassion ; he was very gentle, and was noted tor hia heart of sympathy for the down-trodden and the poor. No one went to him with a tale of sympathy but ha had compassion on them, no matter how far down they were in the scale of society. He always took an interest in the poor. There was a time in its history when th© people thought he had too much compassion Many of the soldiers did not under* stand army discipline, and a great many were not true to the army regulations. They intended to, but they did not understand them. Many a man consequently went wrong, and they were courtmartialed and condemned to be shot, but Abraham Lincoln would always pardon them. .But at length many people protested against this leniency, and said thai) he was too merciful, and ultimately got'uim to declare that if a man was court-martialed he must be shot and that there would be no more reprieves. A few weeks after this, new came that.

A YOUNG SOLDIER HAD BEEN SLEEriN& AT HIS. POST. Ho was court-martialed, and condemned to be shot. The boy wrote to hie mother : "I do not want you to think I do not love my country, bub it came about in this way z. My comrade was eick, and I went out onx. picket for him ; and the next night h& ought to have come, but, still being eick, E went out for him again, and, without intending it, I fell asleep. I did not intend to be disloyal." It was a very touching letter, but the mother and father said there is no chance — therc|willbe no more reprieves. However, there was a little girl in that home, and she knew that Abraham Lincoln had a little boy, and that he loved that little boy, andshe said " If Abraham Lincoln knew how my father and mother loved my brother, he would never allow him to b& shot." So she took the train to go to the White Houae in Washington, to plead for her brother.

AND WHEN SHK (iOT TO THE PRESIDENT'S u . MANSION the difficulty arose how was she to get past the sentinel. So she told him her story, and the tears ran down his cheeks, and he let her pass. But the next trouble was, how to get past the secretary and the other officials. However, ehe succeeded in getting unobstructed into a private rocm, and there were the Senators and. Ministers cf State busy with national affairs. The President saw the child, and called her to him, and said, "My child, what can I do for you ?" and she told him her story. The big tears rolled down his cheeks. He was a father and his heart was full ; he could not stand it. He treated the girl with kindness, and then having reprieved the boy, gave him thirty days furlough, and sent him home to see his mother. Abraham Lincoln's heart was full of compassion. And, let me tell you that Christ's heart; is more full of cornpaseion than any man's ever was or ever can be. You are condemned to die for your sins, and if you come to Him Ho will say to Justice, which clamours for your punishment, " Loose him and let him go." He will rebuke Satan, and the dead shall live. Go to him as that little girl went to the President, and tell Him all ; keep nothing from Him j urgethe entreaty, " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," and He will reply,. " I will ; be thou clean." Lit me ask the poor backslider to-day, Did you ever feel the touch of Christ's band ? If so, you will know it again, for there is love in it. There is a story told in connection with the American war, of a mother who received a despatch that her boy was mortally wounded. Shewent down to the front, aa she knew that those soldiers told off to watch the sick and wounded, could not watch her boy as she would. So she went to the doctor and said Would you like me to ta ke careoE my boy ?" The doctor said, "We have just let him to go asleep, and if you go to him the surprise will be so great, it might be dangerous to him. He is in a very critical state. I will break the news to him gradually." " But," said the mother, "he may never wake up. I should &o dearly like too see him." Oh, how she longed to see him. and finally the doctor said, 'You can see him but if you wake him up and ho diea it will be your fault." " Well,' she said, " I will not wake him up if I may only go by his dying cot and see him." Woll she went by his cot. Her eyes had longed to see him, and as ehe gazed upon him she could not keep her hand off that pallid forehead, and she laid it gently there. There was love and sympathy in that hand, and themoment the slumbering boy felt it he said " Oh mother, have you come?" He knew there was sympathy and affection in the touch of thathand. Andifjyou, ohsinner,will let Jesus reach out His hand and touch your heart, you, too, will find there is sympathy and love in it. May every soul be saved, and come to the arms of our blessed' .Saviour, and feel his healing touch, and. affectionate embrace. Amen.